Autoethnography: “Black” Taxes in South Africa

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Summary
Main Contributions of the Proposed Study
Discussion of Your Own Literature Sources
Discussion of Your Autoethnography and Transformative Learning Resources
Reference List

Abstract

The black tax as a forced measure of affluent black representatives to pay for their extended family life has an ambiguous impact and leads to a diminished quality of life through a number of psychological problems. This study evaluates black tax practices through an autoethnographic analysis of my personal life and the experiences of a focus group of six individuals, five of whom are members of the black community. A literature review is used to assess existing knowledge of the research problem. An individual and multi-stakeholder interview model is used to collect primary data, and reflections and ideas are recorded in a reflective journal.

Summary

Opening Paragraph

The Institute for Policy Studies reports that approximately one in three families (37%) have zero or negative wealth — the reason for this phenomenon of socio-economic inequality is the effects of the black tax prevalent on the African continent (Institute for Policy Studies, 2019, p. 4). The black tax burden is a socio-economic phenomenon arising from the compelled need of a member of the black community — predominantly African — to support his family financially. On the one hand, it is a necessity that brings the family closer together and creates strong kinship ties, but on the other hand, it is the price that the wealthier black person has to pay for virtually his entire life to the social injustices of the world. Black communities historically have fewer economic benefits than members of other ethnic groups. They are limited in their choice of school and the quality of education they receive, which affects their ability to pursue employment and, as a result, intensifies the gap between communities. Conducting an autoethnographic analysis allows me to explore the burden of the black tax through my example and the life practices of my kin and relatives, which in turn extends the theoretical framework of this phenomenon. Thus, the qualitative study of this problem is dictated by the academic need to develop ideas about the burden of the black tax.

Brief Review of Previous Research

Studying the effects of the black tax is a hot topic on today’s academic agenda: numerous authors have investigated the problem in various contexts. Gnanadass et al. (2022) refer to the black tax as the psychological burden that black individuals experience based on the perception of their construction by the white community (p. 61). In other words, the black tax is inextricably linked to black self-identity and determines the experience of their life practices. It has also been reported that the black tax is a common advantage practice in South Africa, whose cultural stratum includes extended families with multiple children and elderly relatives (Carpenter and Phaswana, 2021, p. 612). Thus, the black tax is a socio-economic burden that black members of society are forced to pay, contributing to the development of their extended family.

The academic study of the black tax has traditionally been associated with the educational system in which black students gain knowledge and experience. The emergence of the term has been associated with globalization processes that have resulted in more diverse students gaining access to education. However, the educational system was unprepared for the rapid redefinition of anti-black practices that initially articulated ethnic inequalities (Hunter, 2019, p. 130). It has also been reported that the black tax is spreading in academia, where black employees in academic institutions must spend more time facilitating the adaptation of members of their community as opposed to White professionals (Akin, 2020, p. 479). In other words, the black tax is built on underlying causal relationships, the essence of which boils down to a vicious circle in which an individual who has achieved some financial freedom is forced to give part of his paycheck to provide his family members with a better education.

Being forced to help family members with finances causes black individuals to work twice as hard as members of other communities. Research shows that regular remittances make black people feel dissatisfied with their savings and, as a result, limit their quality of life (Mangoma and Wilson-Prangley, 2019, p. 443). The situation is further exacerbated by rising unemployment in regions of South Africa and the resulting decline in the socioeconomic well-being of black families (Metelerkamp, Drimie, and Biggs, 2019, p. 155). Thus, academic discourse reveals the substantial cyclicality of the black tax problem and dictates the need to address it.

Problem Statement

My brief analysis of the academic literature reveals the significance of the black tax problem, the consequence of which is the compulsion to work harder and a marked decline in the quality of life for members of the black population. Individuals desire to pay for their family members’ lives can be understood in terms of ethical considerations of humanity and family cohesion but is called into question in the context of socio-economic equality. Members of other ethnic groups are often born into an environment that favors their healthy personal and professional development, which is unfair to black communities. The black tax problem is exacerbated by stigma, especially from family members who may misunderstand an individual’s concerns and label them selfish and unwilling to show concern for their relatives (Mbuzo, 2018). In the long run, the individual risks being held hostage to a situation in which family members — especially the unemployed — expect regular financial support without concern for the psychological well-being of the paying individual. However, there is a dearth of helpful knowledge in the academic literature regarding the personal experiences of individuals confronted with the practice of the black tax. The purpose of the current qualitative study is to explore, in an autoethnographic way, the unfair experiences of the black tax and the perceived consequences that have a destructive effect on my family members and me. From an academic perspective, this study makes a valuable contribution to the development of understanding of the black tax through the description of unique experiences. It is expected that the multiplication of knowledge on this topic will ultimately form a system of recommendations that will significantly change this practice.

Purpose Statement

Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study, based on an analysis of personal experiences and those of acquaintances who have encountered the black tax problem, is to explore this phenomenon. The research design explores the experience of the black tax by affluent professionals living in affluent areas of Pretoria, forced to pay for the lives of their extended family members from poor and rural areas of the capital. My personal life experiences and perceived consequences of having to pay this tax are explored in-depth both in individual interviews through an observation diary and in an interactive focus group comprised predominantly of affluent black professionals. The findings suggest how heavy the burden of the black tax is and whether it is perceived differentially by different individuals. All of this contributes to the ultimate goal of this study, which is to develop a better understanding of the black tax phenomenon for Pretoria residents.

Main Contributions of the Proposed Study

The present study makes multiple contributions to academic discourse. First, the study conceptualizes the black tax problem by collecting data from the most recent studies, and systematizing and structuring the known evidence. This will summarize the available data and assess the relevance of the current black tax agenda in the academic community. Second, the study contextualizes the effects of the black tax on affluent professionals from Pretoria, creating opportunities for analysis of personal life practices. Primary data collected through individual and multi-stakeholder interviews shed light on subjective assessments of the problem of unfair taxation. Third, in the long run, the research forms a practical value to form useful recommendations and strategies to minimize the undesirable effects of the black tax. The synthesis of academic data and first-person testimony allows us to correlate results and uncover any disruptive factors in the lives of members of the black community.

Discussion of Your Own Literature Sources

The burden of the black tax is a severe socio-economic factor that has an ambiguous impact on the quality of life of black individuals. The practice of the black tax determines an individual’s forced need to pay the bills for general expenses, medicine, and education for members of his or her family who lack the financial means to do so (Khalfani-Cox, 2021). This phenomenon exists because culturally black families — predominantly South African — find themselves quite extended: they include multiple children, elderly parents, and grandparents (Reyes, 2019, p. 783). The extended nature of the family entails the need to provide for each of them, which is a burden on the parents; as a consequence, already-grown wealthy relatives can financially help their family members. The ambiguity of this effect is that, on the one hand, the family is indeed better off due to outside financial support, but on the other hand, the burden of payment falls on the shoulders of the well-off individual, significantly reducing their quality of life.

The phenomenon of the black tax as a compulsion to pay for the lives of one’s relatives is not specific to regions of South Africa but is, in fact, present in any continent where extended black families live. In the United States, for example, it has been reported that the average annual income for a black family is less than 13% of that for a white family, inherently creating economic inequality (Bhutta, Chang, and Dettling, 2020). Regions of South Africa, however, are a traditional geographic locus for academic discourse on the issue, mainly because the preponderance of locals regularly experience practices of poverty and socio-economic inequality (Carpenter and Phaswana, 2021). Thus, it is correct to postulate that while the problem of the black tax is most significant for poor regions of the planet with traditionally extended families, the practice of this burden turns out to be substantially broader.

The historical roots of the black tax phenomenon stem from the practices of racism and the socio-economic dominance of white ethnic groups. Institutionalized racism, as Mdluli calls it, penetrated deeply into the democratic foundations of South African communities and significantly altered local practices (Mdluli, 2018, p. 1). It has been reported that the cultural influence of Western philosophy shifted collectivist views of local African life and created a condition for the development of the nuclear family (Mikioni, 2019, p. iv). Individuals were then able to break out of the family community and achieve individual economic well-being but often could not allow relatives to remain at the same low standard of living — it was for this reason that the enduring concept of the well-off blacks paying for the lives of their relatives emerged.

Consequently, an agenda is created in which even well-off Africans are disadvantaged by the racist practices of the world order. Access to knowledge and employment provides black individuals with a social elevator that enables them to take high-paying jobs, earn a steady income, and substantially improve their quality of life. However, the black tax takes this away because it forces such individuals to regularly give up some of their resources. According to Walker and Palmer, black students who find themselves surrounded by whites have to work twice as hard to achieve the same results (Walker and Palmer, 2020). Thus, research has shown that in highly valued academia, black people find themselves forced to spend personal time promoting the adjustment of members of their community. Specifically, Akin pointed out that black professors are 10% less likely to receive funding and grants from national institutions in the United States mainly because their research time is reduced by constant participation in diverse groups and support for ethnic minority adaptation, as opposed to White scholars (Akin, 2020, p. 479). Thus, the black tax cycle is marked as early as the knowledge stage, when black populations are systemically discriminated against and, consequently, cannot qualify for large payments.

The black tax is not a strictly financial term but also reflects the psychological characteristics of the phenomenon. Gnanadass et al. postulates the black tax as a problem that is viewed through the lens of black people’s perception of self-identity by white representatives (Gnanadass et al., 2022, p. 61). In particular, ethnic minorities are inherently disadvantaged because of the trend toward anti-racist attitudes in Western communities — in other words; they are held hostage to their image and forced to carry out life practices through it (Walker and Palmer, 2020). As a result, the psychological well-being of the individual forced to pay for the family suffers first and foremost. Research reports “a vexing practice that grievously affects most young, black professionals in contemporary South Africa” (Montle, 2020, p. 235). Living in a constant need to give away their resources, black individuals, even those who manage to reach some financial and professional heights, significantly reduce their quality of life.

Discussion of Your Autoethnography and Transformative Learning Resources

Autoethnographic analysis as a form of qualitative research allows for self-reflection and the use of personal experience to explore black tax practices. O’Neil showed that the autoethnographic method is rarely found in research, serves academic purposes, and stimulates professional development (O’Neil, 2018, p. 483). For this reason, I chose autoethnography as a form for the present research paper. Self-reflection allows me to evaluate my life practices and create my idea of how much of a burden the black tax is on me.

In deciding to conduct an autoethnographic analysis, a significant issue was the choice of tactics that would allow for valid data collection and reliable results. Turning Anderson’s research provides insight into that reflective journals are the right strategy for collecting information in qualitative research (Anderson, 2012, p. 614). Thus, when reflecting on my own black tax experience, I recorded all reflections in a reflective journal and referred to it every time I wanted to add something. The use of reflective journals, in turn, promotes transformative learning, allowing me to learn new information about myself and extrapolate it for research (O’Neil, 2018, p. 497). Thus, my ethnographic analysis allows for investment in this learning type and positively impacts academic outcomes.

In bringing the autoethnographic method to life, I tried to evaluate my life experiences as thoroughly as possible and capture any ideas directly or indirectly related to the black tax. In particular, I was faced with a disorienting dilemma when studying, during which researching new information about the black tax forced me to reflect on whether or not I had encountered it in my life and how I felt about the practice (Boyd, 2008, p. 213). It was difficult for me to objectively evaluate my experiences when compiling my autoethnography, so I intentionally chose to record any thoughts that occurred to me when thinking about the black tax.

Reference List

Akin, Y. (2020) ‘The time tax put on scientists of colour’, Nature, 583(7816), pp. 479-481.

Anderson, J. (2012) ‘Reflective journals as a tool for auto-ethnographic learning: A case study of student experiences with individualized sustainability’, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 36(4), pp. 613-623.

Bhutta, N., Chang, A.C. and Dettling, L.J. (2020) Disparities in wealth by race and ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances. Web.

Boyd, D. (2008) ‘Autoethnography as a tool for transformative learning about white privilege’, Journal of Transformative Education, 6(3), pp. 212-225.

Carpenter, R. and Phaswana, M. (2021) ‘Black tax: An international exploratory study in the South African context’, Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences, 14(1), pp. 612-621.

Gnanadass, E., et al. (2022). ‘“I’ll take two please… sike”: paying the black tax in adult education’, Adult Learning, 33(2), pp. 61-70.

Hunter, M. (2019) Race for education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Institute for Policy Studies (2019) How enriching the 1% widens the racial wealth divide. Web.

Khalfani-Cox, L. (2021) Here’s what the “Black tax” does to so many families — including mine. Web.

Mangoma, A. and Wilson-Prangley, A. (2019) ‘Black tax: understanding the financial transfers of the emerging black middle class’, Development Southern Africa, 36(4), pp. 443-460.

Mbuzo, S. (2018) The conversation around black tax. Web.

Mdluli, S.F. (2018) Black consciousness on institutionalised racism and white supremacy in democratic South Africa: a quest for true liberation. Web.

Metelerkamp, L., Drimie, S. and Biggs, R. (2019) ‘We’re ready, the system’s not–youth perspectives on agricultural careers in South Africa’, Agrekon, 58(2), pp. 154-179.

Mikioni, A. (2019) Black tax and micro-entrepreneurship in Thulamela Local Municipality forms, challenges and coping strategies. Web.

Montle, M.E. (2020) ‘Examining the effects of black tax and socio-economic isolation of the black middle-class in South Africa through the study of Skeem Saam’, African Journal of Development Studies, 10(3), pp. 235-241.

O’Neil, S.M. (2018) ‘On becoming a better supervisor: a deconstruction of autoethnography as method for professional development’, South African Journal of Higher Education, 32(6), pp. 483-501.

Reyes, A.M. (2020) ‘Mitigating poverty through the formation of extended family households: Race and ethnic differences’, Social Problems, 67(4), pp. 782-799.

Walker, L. J., and Palmer, R. T. (2020) Proposing a concept of the black tax to understand the experiences of blacks in America. Web.

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